Bottom club Arklow made a game of it in the second half, fighting back from 2-0 down to restore parity, but the manager then made full use of his substitutes and the introductions of Mark Cashin and Noel McGinty helped turn the match back in Malahide's favour. Only one goal separated the sides at the interval, with veteran Glen Crowe popping up on the end of a sequence of 10 passes to send a superb half-volley beyond the reach of Arklow's keeper.

And all three points seemed to be going to the side promoted from Division 1 when Alan Corcoran added his name to the scoresheet early in the second half. But Malahide were then guilty of taking their foot off the pedal and losing concentration as the visitors from Wicklow stunned them with a quick-fire double salvo. Perth's substitutions paid dividends, however, and Barry Slattery edged the Fingal side ahead once more on 70 minutes before adding a second from the penalty spot after a foul on Cashin. The result pushes Malahide up among the leaders in the Senior Division, although the manager insists it's far too early to attach any significance to their league position, and in any case the team are focusing their attentions on knockout competition this week.